For chef Mashama Bailey’s paternal grandmother, celebrating the holidays meant cooking for family and friends. Her generous hospitality inspired Bailey’s career in food — which this year includes the 10th anniversary of her celebrated restaurant, The Grey. To mark the occasion, Bailey created a holiday menu that honors her grandmother’s influence, which she shares in this special digital issue. From the main dish of braised short ribs to the spectacular dessert of red velvet cake with coconut, Bailey’s menu reflects the ceremony and graciousness her grandmother brought to every holiday meal.
My own grandmother had an indelible influence on our holiday traditions, too. Three generations of my family bake the German cookies she made every December. This is our first Christmas without her and it seems especially significant to carry on her legacy. Her favorite cookie was the Spitzbube (which translates to “cheeky boy”). Unique to southern Germany, this jam-filled buttery sandwich cookie is also my favorite. (You can find my Brown Butter-Cardamom Spitzbuben in this issue, along with 24 other holiday cookies to make this season).
My family is from Bavaria, home to some of the world’s most romantic Christmas markets in Nuremberg and Munich, and my hometown of Garmisch-Partenkirchen is always ridiculously holiday-ready with its fairytale cobblestone streets, twinkly lights, and chalet houses against a backdrop of snow-capped mountains. It’s a scene not unlike the one that inspired the gingerbread house in this issue. Our templates and decorating ideas make it easy to throw a gingerbread house-building party — or to build a whole gingerbread village.
If the thought of a project to tackle or a big dinner to host sounds daunting, throw a cocktail party instead and keep it simple but fun (looking at you Dirty Martini Dip), or go a little luxe with oysters or caviar, no cooking required. We have you covered on the liquid side of things, too, with a primer on holiday wine shopping and our easiest batched cocktails to make ahead.
We hope this issue inspires you to gather your village, and cook, share, and celebrate with the ones closest to you. Frohe Weihnachten! – Melanie Hansche, editorial director, special projects
On the 10th anniversary of her Savannah, Georgia restaurant, The Grey, chef Mashama Bailey honors the woman who inspired her to become a chef: her grandmother. Inspired by her grandmother’s generous holiday table, Bailey shares a cozy Christmas menu, with recipes for braised short ribs in a delicious peanut sauce, slow-cooked, garlicky green beans, red velvet cake with coconut, and more — plus, her tips for holiday entertaining at home.